What should they do with Freddie and Fannie?

[Damocles]

With Fannie and Freddie free enough to lobby congress it is more free than you let on.
on my nit bucket idea.

Lobbying is not a sign of a "free market". That's like saying that the USSR's economy was free because the leaders accepted bribes.

The only version of the "free market" you might ever get close to is the black market.

 

[Timshel]

Have you ever considered that maybe the quality of houses have gone way up? And that increasing population has driven land prices way up? The problem with adjusting to inflation alone is that it nearly always presents a rose colored picture of the past - wealth rises faster than inflation, and so people are putting more and more and more into their house with the extra income.

Sure, there are other factors driving up prices. But many of those same factors (e.g., more disposable income) would drive up prices in other goods/services.

Because, you see, for you to prove that if we just let the jungle reign we'd have a perfect housing market where full houses were worth fourteen thousand dollars, we'd have to run the experiment on the economy. We've already ran that experiment, it failed, and no thankyou. BTW, FDR created freddie and fannie. So they were there in 1940, and they had a government enforced MONOPOLY.

Yes, I know FDR created Fannie Mae (Freddie Mac was in 68). But that was in 1938 so its impacts were not likely to have been felt much by the 1940 census. 1940 data is as far back as I was able to find.

It was the government's experiment that failed and caused the depression.

 

[uscitizen]

Lobbying is not a sign of a "free market". That's like saying that the USSR's economy was free because the leaders accepted bribes.

The only version of the "free market" you might ever get close to is the black market.

Nit bucket time again

 

[uscitizen]

always the governments fault never the fault of greedy shortsighted businesses.

that should not really be an issue now since the government and business are essentially one and the same.

 

[Timshel]

always the governments fault never the fault of greedy shortsighted businesses.

Shortsighted businesses are typically punished quite quickly in the market. The government is needed to create this sort of massive malinvestment.

that should not really be an issue now since the government and business are essentially one and the same.

True enough, but then to call it a free market is ridiculous.

 

[uscitizen]

Shortsighted businesses are typically punished quite quickly in the market. The government is needed to create this sort of massive malinvestment.



True enough, but then to call it a free market is ridiculous.

well yes , but we have to call it something. To call America a democracy is somewhat ridiculous as well. the nit bucket is filling fast.